A New View of the Moon, Artemis II

Earthset over the far side. 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026. April 6, 2026, 6:41 p.m. EDT. Earth slips behind the Moon's curved limb as the Artemis II crew rounds the far side. This is the wider view of the Earthset sequence, revealing not just the moment, but the geology it's framed against. Orientale basin sits right at the edge of the visible surface, a 600-mile impact scar marking the boundary between what we can and can't see from home. Behind it, the two subtle concentric rings of Hertzsprung basin emerge, one of the oldest large structures on the far side. A younger crater, Vavilov, punches through the older rings. Lines of secondary crater chains radiate outward, debris trails from the massive Orientale impact frozen in place for billions of years. On Earth, Australia and Oceania catch the last daylight. The rest has already turned to night. This image retains its original framing as captured aboard Orion. The visible grain is inherent to deep space photography conditions. We keep it as is. It's part of what makes this real. Photo: NASA / Artemis II, Lunar Flyby